World

Global issues, U.N., etc.

Inside David Byrne's Livable City

Using a mishmash of highlights from cities around the world, musician and artist David Byrne talks about his personal vision of a perfect, livable city.

September 14, 2009 - The Wall Street Journal

Friday Funny: Suburban Fantasies

With names like Aspen Grove and Sunrise Park, you might mistake these suburb designs for the real thing. But something's not quite right in artist Ross Racine's birds-eye views of imaginary suburbs.

September 11, 2009 - The Infrastructurist

Tapping Outside Experience to Build U.S. High Speed Rail

As the race for high speed rail stimulus dollars gets underway, international firms stand to gain the most benefit as few if any U.S. firms are capable of building the rolling stock the new systems will need.

September 10, 2009 - The Wall Street Journal

The City Planner Behind 9/11

Mohamed Atta, one of the 9/11 terrorists, pursued a masters degree in city planning before the attacks. Slate's Daniel Brooks reads Atta's masters thesis, and finds a strain of anti-Western modernism that is revealing.

September 9, 2009 - Slate.com

Become an Unscrupulous Developer, Virtually

Monopoly: City Streets melds the board game with Google Maps gives you the chance to buy the world's streets and develop your dream project on them (in competition with other players, of course.)

September 9, 2009 - The Guardian U.K.

More Renewable Energy = More Acreage

As the push for renewable energy increases, The Nature Conservancy points out that renewables need a lot of land to work and could cause "energy sprawl."

September 9, 2009 - Renewable Energy World

U.S. Oil Consumption On The Decline...Permanently

For political, technological, and even demographic as well as economic reasons, don't expect American oil consumption to increase over 2007 levels. $3 gas is here to stay, and the days of the petrol-gulping SUVs and guzzlers may be numbered.

September 8, 2009 - Barrons

Planning City Love

This week's episode of Smart City features a discussion with planner Larry Beasley about how love can be an economic driver for cities, and how planning around emotions can improve cities.

September 6, 2009 - Smart City

Is the Local Food Movement Misguided?

Eating local is in vogue, as the environmental impacts of industrialized agriculture surface. But is eating local really the right response? One author says maybe not.

September 6, 2009 - Forbes

Digital Experiences in Public Spaces On the Rise

The rise of smart mobile technology is increasing the demand for digital interactivity in public spaces. Marketers and artists are obliging.

September 5, 2009 - Advertising Age

The Dangers of Mega-Events

2010 will bring with it a series of huge international events -- the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the World Cup in South Africa and the World Expo in Shanghai. Though seen as major opportunities for their hosts, these events can also be dangerous.

September 5, 2009 - Next American City

Rising Wealth and the Emergence of New Global Cities

New world cities are emerging, and the "first truly urban century" will be shaped by the way increasing wealth is handled in places like Mumbai, Bangalore, Shanghai, Beijing, Sao Paulo and Dubai.

September 4, 2009 - Forbes

Stopping Sprawl Won't Happen Soon Enough to Fight Global Warming

Policies that encourage density as a way to reduce carbon emissions won't be able to play a significant role in reducing carbon emissions in time to counteract global warming, according to a new report from the National Academy of Sciences.

September 3, 2009 - Technology Review

The City of the 21st Century

Shanghai could be them model city of the future, according to a new exhibit.

September 3, 2009 - e-Oculus

Room for Improvement in Prospective Olympic Host Cities

A new report from the International Olympic Committee has evaluated the four host candidates for the 2016 Summer Olympics and found many places for improvement ahead of its October 2 decision.

September 3, 2009 - The Chicago Tribune

Dengue Fever Increased by Rapid Urbanization

Rapid urbanization and dense cities with inadequate infrastructure are being cited as leading causes in the spread of dengue fever throughout Southeast Asia and the rest of the world.

September 3, 2009 - Reuters

Eco-Cities Progressing, Despite Bad Economy

The failing world economy put many large eco-developments on hold, but many projects like the Amsterdam's 'smart city' and Germany's Eco City Hamburg-Harburg are on track and forging new ground in sustainability practices.

September 2, 2009 - Business Week

A 'Feasible' Engineering Solution to Global Warming

A new study from the UK Royal Society has determined that geo-engineering techniques are technically feasible approaches to address high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the resulting global warming.

September 2, 2009 - BBC

Dwindling Resources in a World of 9 Billion

The population is expected to climb to 9 billion within the next 50 years. As a result, crucial natural resources will dwindle. This article looks at four that will be much harder to come by in the future.

August 31, 2009 - Gizmag

Houses That Refuse to Leave

Like in Pixar's recent movie Up, some people refuse to leave their homes when every lot around them is turning into a major development. This blog profiles some of these so-called "nail houses," as seen from Google Earth.

August 28, 2009 - Google Sightseeing blog

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.